pentagon acquisition reform

Stealth War: F-23 vs. the F-22 By Sandra Erwin, RealClearDefense: “The final operational version of the F-23 would have offered much better range than the Raptor—especially at supersonic speeds—especially if powered by the YF120.”

Why Russia and China Still Fear the F-16 By Sebastien Roblin, The National Interest: “The F-16 currently remains the most popular aircraft in modern military service: out of 4,500 produced, nearly 2,700 currently remain in service in around twenty-six countries. Needless to say, the cutting-edge fourth-generation fighter of the 1980s will remain with us for a good while longer."

Russia's Super Strange Kiev-Class Aircraft Carriers By Kyle Mizokami, The National Interest: “At the tail end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union produced a number of unique aircraft carriers. Known as the Kiev class, the carriers were the Soviets’ initial foray into the world of fixed wing naval aviation, and the only Soviet carriers to become fully operational."

The other way China can extend its anti-ship ballistic missile capability is to take the DF-21D and deliver it to launch points far out to sea via aircraft. Although having heavy aircraft launch ballistic missiles is not common, it is not unprecedented.

The idea was toyed with during the Cold War and today C-17s drop ballistic missiles as targets for anti-ballistic missile tests. Still, there are no operational combat systems that do this, but then again the job of creating a giant anti-access bubble around one's country and attacking ships with ballistic missiles is somewhat different than using the technique to launch traditional nuclear-tipped ballistic weapons.

Less Acquisition Reform: Focus on FundamentalsBy Terry Marlow, Breaking Defense: “When corporate CEOs talk about concentrating on improving “blocking and tackling,” they are referring to getting business fundamentals right. DoD just doesn’t seem capable of focusing on acquisition “blocking and tackling.””

Military Mass is BackBy JyriRaitasalo , RealClearDefense: “Trashing Army Corps, Divisions and Brigades, slashing fighter jets and Navy vessels and reducing military manpower by the millions, western militaries, particularly in Europe, have become more usable, but less resilient and capable to operate according to the demands of large-scale high-intensity warfighting.”

US weapons development: The North Korean missile standoff has prompted the US military to accelerate the development of next-generation artillery shells known as hypervelocity projectiles or HVPs, Peter Brown writes. The shells travel in excess of 5,000 mph and can hit targets with the impact of a freight train. They can be fired off at 20 rounds per minute at targets, including moving ones such as missiles, from modified artillery already in operation. Because they are precision-guided and travel at such extreme speed, they can hit targets as far as 100 miles away in 72 seconds, markedly reducing options to evade. Standard artillery shells have a range of less than 20 miles. READ THE STORY HERE

INDIA: India Struggles to Modernize Defense Industry By Sarah Watson, The Cipher Brief: “India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to execute two highly ambitious programs: modernizing its military while also increasing the relative weight of domestic military production.”

RUSSIA: Russia Reveals Il-22PP Special Mission Aircraft By Piotr Butowski, Jane's: “Russia has shown for the first time its new Ilyushin Il-22PP Porubshchik special mission aircraft. The ‘escort jammer' aircraft made its public debut on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the Russian air force over Kubinka on 12 August.”

Considerations for Trump's Defense Industrial Review By Lauren Fish, Independent Journal Review: “Conversations with administration officials indicate the purpose is a strategic study of America’s vulnerabilities, which is critical to maintain continued U.S. access to relevant resources and capabilities in the event of war. However, as presently designed, there are three key areas for improvement beyond what the White House has described.”

Expelling Digital Demons from U.S. Sensitive Supply Chains By Samantha F. Ravich & Michael Hsieh, The Cipher Brief: “The unprecedented challenge of policing the vast and complex supply chains for such hardware will require radical innovation in technology and governance to ensure that the rules-based system of international trade that the U.S. has long championed is not degraded into a chaotic arena of unrestricted economic warfare.”

Development at War: A Short HistoryBy Jeff Goodson, RealClearDefense: “For now, however, DoD is the only U.S. government organization with the mission, mandate, institutional will, personnel, experience, expertise, force protection, and budget to lead the development element of irregular warfare, especially at the tactical and operational levels.

GETTING CONGRESS EDUCATED ON D.O.D. A Professional Military Education for CongressBy Jules Hurst & Sam Stowers, RealClearDefense: “The U.S. military loves formal education. Commissioned officers attend professional military education at every stage of their careers from pre-commissioning to executive-level ranks. The U.S. government fails to provide the same quality of professional education to a more influential group—the 535 Senators, Representatives, and their staff who craft the nation’s $600 billion-dollar defense budget, exercise oversight of U.S. armed forces, and though they rarely exercise it, hold power to declare war.” ​

SIN AGAINST GOD NOT THE BUREAUCRACYHow Change Happens:The Four Ways New Ideas Get Implemented in the Defense DepartmentBy John McRae, Modern War Institute: “Adm. Hyman Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy,” was once quoted as saying, “If you’re going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won’t.” So how, in an organization as large and often unwieldy as the Department of Defense, does change occur within a bureaucracy that can be both in opposition to and unforgiving of that change?”

The Path to a 355 Ship NavyBy Dave Majumdar, The National Interest: “The question if the U.S. Navy will achieve its goal of building a 355-ship fleet will largely rest on if the U.S. Congress can repeal the Budget Control Act of 2011. Moreover, that goal might only be achieved if the Pentagon is able move funding for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine out of the Navy’s ship construction accounts.” ​

A Guide to Russia’s Navy DayFromDigital Forensic Research Lab: “On July 30, the Russian Federation celebrated Navy Day with some 100 vessels across its ports in St. Petersburg; Vladivostok; Novorossiysk; Baltiysk, Kaliningrad; Tartus, Syria; and illegally-occupied Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine. Admiral Aleksandr Vitko, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, announced plans to continue developing the Russian naval forces with a frigate, two large diesel submarines, small missile ships, patrol ships, and communications ships. The navy also recently introduced two new frigates, four diesel submarines, anti-sabotage ships, and several smaller vessels. Official photos from the events display an array of air and naval equipment.” ​

Why Russia's Once Superpower Navy Is in Big TroubleBy Robert Farley, The National Interest: “Over the past year, the Russian Navy has undertaken several high visibility operations, most notably the deployment of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov off the coast of Syria, and the launch of cruise missiles from ships based in the Caspian Sea. Russian submarine activity has also increased, although not quite to the level seen in the Cold War.” ​

America Doesn’t Need a DraftBy James Durso, RealClearDefense: “Recently a proposal was made to bring back the draft in place of the all-volunteer force America has relied on since 1973. The advocates of a draft feel the volunteer force is too expensive, the military and civilian populations are no longer connected, and the country lacks a sense of “shared sacrifice” when only a small proportion of the populations is in uniform." ​